Cape Coral High School’s 2025 homecoming is approaching quickly, and only one person has the ability and skill required to plan it well. Class of 2026 senior, Kyra Hayes, is the lead planner of this year’s homecoming.
With this being her first year as the lead planner, she said, “I’m excited to hear everybody’s opinion on the theme and their opinion on the decorations.”
As of August 25, the Student Government Association (SGA) held a general meeting to vote for what the homecoming theme would be this year. For her first year as a lead planner, Hayes is promoting inclusivity and making sure everybody knows that they all have a choice and say in the matter.
Hayes continuously wants to make sure everybody’s voices are heard and in doing so, she must put her own thoughts and opinions on hold. “I usually don’t do stuff that I want because it’s my vote, it’s just one vote. I like to listen to the votes of the people,” said Hayes, further proving her leadership capabilities.
Alongside being the lead planner of homecoming, Hayes is also an athlete who is involved in sports such as track, weight lifting, and planning to do flag football in the spring. Whilst juggling all of these responsibilities, Hayes struggled through a rough patch in her sophomore year.
Soto and her husband learned about a student who was in need and decided to take her in as one of their own. “Kyra is our foster daughter, not adopted,” said Soto. “At the end of her sophomore year, she became displaced, and when I learned about her situation, I was really moved.”
Hayes’ story is one of balance and drive. Despite having various challenges in her personal life, she continues to show up for her peers and fits amazingly within the Soto family. “From the beginning, she’s been loved not only by us, but by our extended family as well. She and Mia have a wonderful bond, and our home feels complete with her here. Kyra is very special to us, and we hope she always knows how deeply she is loved and how proud we are of her,” Soto said.
Mia Soto, Hayes’ foster sister, comments on their dynamic throughout the process of Hayes finding her place in the family. “We definitely come to know each other more, and I’ve become more understanding of her and she’s become more understanding of me and us with our SGA roles. I feel like it definitely helps because we can talk more about it face to face, so there’s open communication with everyday school things or just life,”
Mia Soto’s outlook on the new addition to her family is optimistic, as the change in Hayes once she got settled was visible.
“She’s able to focus on school and not what was happening around her before. I think she’s definitely improved.”
Though the outcome of this has been positive for Hayes’ life, Soto, as a parental figure in her life, had a different perspective on the effects the transition had on her. “Like any transition, there are always going to be challenges. But overall, Kyra has adapted really well. She’s found her rhythm. She loves family game nights, having her friends over, and being part of our daily life.”
From Soto’s perspective as a parent and a teacher, she has been able to see the effects first hand on Hayes. In spite of that, Hayes has proved her resilience to get through the challenges coming her way.
Besides the familial view on Hayes, Sabrina Manso, Hayes’ best friend, commented on the relationship between the two. “Me and Kyra have always been really close. Today, we got called two peas in a pod because we always have a lot of clubs together, and I feel like we always uplift each other and always support what we’re both doing.”
Manso and Hayes have been best friends since freshman year and their bond has grown to be interlinked with one another.
Despite having a rough time in the beginnings of Hayes’ high school years, she doesn’t let that stop her and continues to fill her plate with difficult tasks and responsibilities that she makes look effortless.
